Due to legal restrictions in the ongoing Cheeki Rafiki trial, we have had to momentarily remove all comments regarding the case.

Our legal team are looking into this and we will advise you once we have further information.

In the interim it would be appreciated if you did not post any further comments in this regard.

Please accept our apologies for any inconvenience and thank you for your patience.

Stef

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As an island race, it does seem a shame that we cannot unite under one maritime flag.

The Blue Ensigns do obviously serve a purpose to some sailors.

In our recent history, 60,000 sailors died serving under the Red Ensign. Most had hardly had the means of firing back. The conditions they served under were also pretty horrendous. Only in fairly recent years has their contribution been fully understood and appreciated.

Many of the families of the dead are also still living. I am not saying you should change whatever you decide to do, but to you at least understand how some people feel ?

As an island race, it does seem a shame that we cannot unite under one maritime flag.

The Blue Ensigns do obviously serve a purpose to some sailors.

In our recent history, 60,000 sailors died serving under the Red Ensign. Most had hardly had the means of firing back. The conditions they served under were also pretty horrendous. Only in fairly recent years has their contribution been fully understood and appreciated.

Many of the families of the dead are also still living. I am not saying you should change whatever you decide to do, but to you at least understand how some people feel ?

30,000 according to this page. Combine it with the RN losses though during the same period and you get over 95,000 killed and wounded serving under all three of our Ensigns. Personally, as long as there is a union jack in the corner I think you are showing all the respect necessary.

What a long thread about nothing, there is no law enforced in UK waters about ensigns flown or not for leisure craft. If there was this thread wouldn't be here. I fly the NZ flag or the Scottish ensign on mine, the wife is a Kiwi and I'm Scottish, when overseas I fly the same ones with no problems at all, the boat is registered in the UK in Scotland and therefor Scottish but who really cares.
For all the distance people travel in UK waters most might as well just hang the washing from the stern!

There was a case once where a British consul ( in Portugal I believe) exercised his legal right to board a british vessel ( a small yacht) in port and confiscate the incorrect flag that the boat was flying. I believe the flag was an extremely tatty and frayed red ensign. The skipper was fined.

I usually fly a big red one off the mizzen peak. But then again I like to fly this one, just to annoy the cornish.

They seem to be getting a lot more popular judging by the number of sellers now rather than just the one when I bought mine. But honestly, does anyone really care? Sure I do get annoyed when a large mobo chugs annoyingly past moorings with a blue ensign. I get just as annoyed when a tw@t on a jetski hurtles past, in fact, more so. The colour of the ensign, or not, matters not a bit, though it may start a conversation if you are rafted up to someone with an unusual one.